


Hunter's Night

by silveradept



Category: Three Little Kittens (Nursery Rhyme)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 00:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14532636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: The Three Little Kittens have lost their mittens, and may know where to find them. Each kitten must undergo their own path to find that which was lost and take their place among the cats.





	1. Mittens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamiflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/gifts).



Mittens, we are told now, are strange gifts for kittens, but that is because humans believe that mittens are things that cover the paw and keep all the toes together. Humans create words to differentiate things, to say this and not that, because they see themselves as separate and not whole.

Many litters ago, when humans were small, kittens would go on their hunt when it was time to join the world of cats. Having trained their senses and sharpened their claws, the kitten would hunt a prey and bring it back as proof of their maturity. From their story they would save the name by which they were known. As the humans grew bigger, the prey began to follow them around, preferring the food the humans carelessly left around rather than risking their lives in the world of cats. Many times the cats attempted to make the humans aware of the damage they were doing to the balance, but humans are very good at ignoring what they do not wish to see. Remember this.

The cats followed the humans to human places, and showed them where the prey were, and what to do with the prey. And for a while, the cats and the humans understood each other and the relationship that they had, one species of hunter to another. But humans are cunning, kits. Remember this. They built their structures again, and they chased the prey outside, using the wolves they had charmed with promises of meat and plenty, and they gave no thanks to those who had helped them. The farseers and spellweavers, those gifted by Luna to fold into the shadows, many of them were chased away as well. Many more were sent to join Luna and watch over us all.

Humans are cruel, kit. Do not forget this.

The strongest of ours went to see the King of the Dreaming, who told her how to make the humans small again. The wisest of us went to see Gautama, who told her how to pass on from this plane. The cleverest of us thought hard, and disguised herself in the clothing and mannerisms of the humans, so as to better see them. Her cleverness earned her great renown and riches, and it is through her that we have found our way. 

The cleverest of us fashioned the first set of mittens, from the dreams of the dreamers, the disdain of the ascetics, and the magic of Luna that has been passed down through every tribe of cat since our beginning. She wove a grand illusion about herself, hiding her nature and giving her the appearance of a simpler, kinder creature. To the humans, it appeared as if the magic they had been using on wolves had finally been effective against cats. 

She taught the secret to her kits, and they found homes within the human world as well. They would occasionally need to hunt the prey, but the power of her mittens was so great that the humans began to take care of her and hers without the need to hunt.

And so each litter taught the next, and the cats came to live with the humans, with their mittens keeping them safe from the humans' notice.


	2. Darkness

"Boring!" yowled Eldest. Second hissed at him. She was quite enjoying the history of cats.

"Why are you telling us this now?" Third said. Third always had the knack for questions.

"Because, kits," their mother replied, "the time is fast approaching when the mittens we made for you at your birthing will unravel and fade. Soon you will grow into cats, powerful and terrible, and you will have to find your own way. In this world where humans are everywhere, you must have your own mittens to keep you safe."

"Sounds like work," Eldest sniffed, and went elsewhere to lie in the sun, tail waving his indifference to all who cared to look.

Second hissed again, almost rising to the level of a challenge, before stalking off in the other direction, ears flattened.

"How?" asked Third of their mother cat, Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters. The humans called her Artemis, which always made Third wonder if humans knew what her true name was, or whether humans were also lucky as well.

"You, I have no doubt, will be able to fashion yours without issue," she replied. 

Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters was descended from a long line of the shadow-blessed, but in Third's opinion, that made her less willing to admit that her kits had not inherited those talents. Eldest was black and white in the pattern humans called a "tuxedo", one who could have been shadow-blessed, but for the stark white that stood out on his chest when he turned to face his prey. He had long since determined that meant he had no need for stealth and quiet.

Second, on the other hand, had three colors in the "calico" pattern, and they betrayed her nature - volatile and easily pushed, a mix of warring feelings that seemed to pass her back and forth between them. Eldest enjoyed provoking her.

"Why can't you make our mittens?" Third asked. "You did it for us when we were born."

"Terrible things happen," she replied. "Mirror-Image-Of-Panther tried, once, but the magic twisted in her paws and her third was transformed into something that could not survive in this world. The mitten magic cannot be what another thinks you should be. It must be yourself."

Third did not feel like they had gathered any wisdom from this, only another warning. Warnings were plentiful for kittens, so many that it became difficult to remember them all. Third flicked their tail in annoyance for a moment before remembering who they were around, and decided to withdraw. There would be time for understanding before they had to know what to do.

Or there would have been, but Luna is known for both her steadfastness and her mischief. Third had only smelled a little bit of something in the breeze before the human child in their house started screaming. They were only a little faster to the room than the child's parents, but it was enough to see the shadow. Terrifying and jagged, it seemed to be mostly made of maw and teeth, and it was advancing up the wall of the child's den.

The light from above blinded Third for just a moment. When their eyes refocused, the shadow was gone. Third cautiously entered the room, listening to the child describe the shadow on the wall while one of the mothers held her and the other flipped up the bed coverings to see what was underneath.

Eldest was the only thing underneath, and he yawned and stretched, as if awoken from a pleasant nap.

"Hello, Third. Such noisy creatures, these humans. I was just about to sleep when this child started making noise."

"Did you see the shadow, Eldest?"

"Shadow?"

"Upon the wall. The child screamed because of it."

"I saw nothing like that, Third. All I could see were the coverings."

Third acknowledged this as true, and yet there was something in Eldest's posture that suggested the truth was different. Third could not discern what was wrong, and felt that further questions would not provide answers. They would watch patiently and wait to see if the shadow returned.

On the third night, the shadow returned. Third raced into the child's room, but only saw a glimpse of the maw that threatened the child before the light returned and the shadow disappeared. Again the mothers made their search, and only Second could be found underneath the bed, grooming herself indifferently.

"Hello, Third," she said, in between licks. "It's going to take me all night to get my fur back in place. That loud child, screaming like that. Surely she has enough respect not to wake her mothers so?"

"The shadow the child saw was there. I witnessed it for a moment before it dissipated in the light." 

Second continued to wash herself. "I could not have seen it, with these covers present."

Again Third felt that what was said was true, but what was true was not what was said. Before they could ask other questions, Second sauntered out the door. Third considered their options, and then went to go see their mother.

Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters listened attentively to Third's concerns about Eldest and Second's change of behavior and their feelings about the truths of their statements.

"Third child of mine," she said, "you and your littermates are soon to become cats and find your names. What you were as kittens may no longer be what you are as cats. Some change is to be expected."

"The shadow was real," Third insisted.

"But only present for a moment, and then gone with the light?" Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters said, a mix of curiosity and restraint in her question. "You are certain it was there?" 

Third thought before giving their answer. "I am not certain," they said. "But I do believe it was there."

"I would confirm it," their mother said, nodding slowly. "Once you are certain, then come back to me."

Third knew there was more that had not been spoken of, but also that there was nothing more to be learned until they were sure. It was a simple enough contrivance to get into the child's room when it was time for sleeping. Once that was done, Third settled in for a long nightly vigil. They were certain the shadow would manifest itself again.

Many hours passed without action. Third began to doubt what they had seen. Perhaps it had only been an illusion. Eldest and Second had certainly not been concerned with what happened. Yet Third had known, with certainty, that they were not telling the entire truth. What were they hiding?

A burble of human sound from the next room over alerted Third to what they had not seen before. Calling themself a fool, Third bounded off the bed they were protecting. There had been another human child brought into the house a small while ago. Third had shown their plan too soon.

Dashing into the other room, Third saw the shadow, monstrous and hungry, almost to the place where the tiniest human should have been sleeping. Third charged the source of the shadow, intent on capturing it before it disappeared again.

Before they could pounce the shadow, a paw came and struck them on the nose.

"Eldest, Third is here," Second said, with body arched, ready to strike again. Third noticed the shine in her eyes didn't seem to reflect as much of Luna's light as before.

Third heard nothing but the sound of the child entranced by the shadow moving in on it. They made ready to pounce again, to try and disrupt the shadow. Before they could spring, a bright flash filled the room for a moment.

When Third could see again, the shadow had dissipated. Eldest was staring at something behind Third while Second was grooming her paws and casting aggrieved looks in Third's direction.

"And they brought mother," Second said, flicking her tail in open annoyance. 

"What have you done?" Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters said. "Where are the mittens I so carefully made for you when you were born?"

"We have no need for your mittens," Eldest replied calmly. "We have tasted the blood of the prey. It is time for us to become what we have always been."

"Once all creatures fear us, as they should, the world will be right for us again," Second added. "The small ones of this house will be an excellent start."

"Oh, my kittens," their mother said. "I had hoped you would wait, but I see that the temptation was too great. You have started your journey far earlier than I wanted. Tonight you must find the Dream Sages and discover your names."

Eldest and Second both hissed and arched their backs at the suggestion, but Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters met for eyes with hers, and spoke words of power at them until their eyes drooped and their bodies slackened in sleep.

Third turned to their mother.

"Who are the Dream Sages?" they asked.

"The Dream Sages are those who offer us our choices and our names. Your brother and sister will need your guidance if they are to find the way set before them."

"And how will I know the way?" Third asked.

"You know the way, Third of my litter. You have been watching me weave for some time now. You know the language of the dream." She waved a paw at the sleeping kittens. "Go help them. Time is short."

Third still did not understand, but the words of power were taking effect on them as well. They found a good place to sleep and closed their eyes.


	3. Pathways

Third was not fully ready for the cold. There was frost on the grass and a wind that swept through without a tree to block it.

Luna shone brightly in the sky, so there was enough light to see by, at least. That made it easy to locate Second, who looked very frustrated with something.

Eldest's hiss of annoyance gave Third enough information to spot him close by to Second.

"What. Are. These," he said, waving his front paws at both of them. 

Eldest's normally-black paws were starkly white, and the claws that Eldest took great pride in keeping clean were nowhere to be seen. Third looked over at Second, who had a similar set, and then down at their own paws, which were also covered in white.

"Mittens," Third mused aloud.

"I can't remove them," Second said.

"We're not supposed to," Third said.

"How will I eat the prey?" Eldest said.

"We're not _supposed_ \--" Third stopped, looking at Eldest's mittens, which had developed a small red spot that wasn't present before. Eldest followed his gaze, then tried to lick off the spot.

The spot would not be licked.

Eldest shrugged, and then pricked his ears at a faint sound in the distance. Second and Third years it soon after - a sound like many tiny footsteps in the distance. Eldest and Second exchanged knowing glances and began to stalk the sound. Third listened more as he followed behind.

As they approached the source of the sound, Third realized what they had been listening to. They made to speak a warning, but Second had already pounced, eager to take the first kill away from Eldest. The splash she made as she jumped into the river was quickly drowned out by the yowl she made as the water soaked her through.

Third made careful haste to the side of the river. Thankfully, while loud, the current was not particularly strong. Second paddled against it, trying to get back to the shore. 

Eldest put a paw in the water. "Cold," he said, drawing the paw back out and making no more move toward the river.

Third could not drag Second out of the water. Second could not swim against the current for much longer. Third needed a way to get Second closer to them, but they could not think of a way to do it. If they had skills like their mother...

The memory came to them unbidden, a picture and words they had seen spoken a long time ago. Before they could consider the wisdom of such speech, they had said the incantation and the column of water Second was swimming against turned to ice in front of her. Second hauled herself out of the water and picked her way carefully back to the shore, dripping much of the way

"Thank you, Third," she said, between chattering teeth before flinging wetness in Eldest's face. Third suspected this was because Eldest has chosen not to risk himself for his littermate, a proposition that would have been absurd before the change wrought by eating of the prey.

"The place we seek is beyond the water," Second said. "The Dream Sages sleep at the center of the forest." 

"Will there be prey?" Eldest asked.

"I smelled prey before this river appeared," Second said confidently. "There will be more past it."

Both Eldest and Second looked at Third pointedly. Third noticed more spots on their mittens. If it kept their littermates moving in the right direction, they reasoned, then helping them cross would be okay. Third spoke the words they had remembered, and created a bridge of ice for them to cross the water. Eldest and Second led, moving as swiftly as they felt they could.

The cold followed them into the forest. Even though the trees were many and they cast shadows instead of Luna's light, the cold followed Third and hurried them. The further all three went into the forest, the less of Luna's light shone to illuminate their path. Eldest and Second strode boldly, making themselves as large and intimidating as they could.

"I am not afraid," Eldest spoke suddenly.

"I will be great by myself," Second said shortly after.

"Who are you talking to?" Third asked them, but they gave no signs of hearing. Third listened to see if they could hear the source of what spoke to their littermates, but they heard only the rustle of the wind in the trees and the insistence of the cold.

"I do not fear," Eldest said, growling at whatever plagued him. "I protect. They would not be here without me." Eldest stared at something in the shadows. Third tried to see what he looked at so intently, but could only see the shadows cast from the trees.

Second mewed plaintively and flattened herself on the forest floor. "Stop! Mother! Help!" She flinched as if struck. "I am not a worthless Second! Why do you hurt me?"

Third could only see shadow. In their attention to Second, Third had missed Eldest bounding off into the forest. Third could hear Eldest shouting challenge to those that spoke to him, but his voice seemed fainter every time Third heard him. Third did not understand. The only thing that Third could see were the shadows.

 

Faintly, Third remembered what Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters had done to banish shadows, but a wave of doubt rose to do battle. Eldest was the brave one. Surely he could handle the shadows. He and Second had both been playing with them already. Third was cautious, the one that thought and understood before acting. If they did something now, they might disrupt everything.

The entire dream would collapse, and his littermates would be lost to the shadows forever. Certainly they could afford to wait until they understood.

Second screamed in pain, shaking them from their thoughts. Third could not see anything at all. The darkness had overtaken everything. There was no more time. A decision had to be made.

Third shouted the words that their mother had used to dispel the final shadow before sending them on this dream. A bolt of lightning flashed down from the heavens, illuminating the space they were in. Third watched as the shadows that surrounded them broke apart in the light, floating away in scraps. The shadows of the forest that Third had seen dissipated. The trees that Third had thought were real fragmented, their true nature exposed.

What remained, what felt to Third like the first real thing they had encountered, were two cats.

The first cat was a tortoiseshell, but instead of the deep orange Third had understood was characteristic, this cat had blood red. The more Third looked, the more the red seemed to resemble splatters and pools of blood.

Changing their gaze before making themselves ill, Third examined the other cat, who appeared to missing her hair entirely. This made it unmistakable that she was due to deliver a litter soon. She did not seem discomforted by this.

Third looked away from her, too, and saw that Eldest and Second were with them. Their heart sang of joy before they looked at the mittens Eldest and Second were wearing.

"Three little kittens, all soiled their mittens, each and every one," the red cat purred.

"Three little kittens must wash their mittens, or else they'll all be done," said the hairless cat. 

"Who are you?" Eldest demanded of them.

The two cats exchanged annoyed flicks of their tails before answering.

"I am Luna-Huntress-Of-Prey," the blood cat declared. "I lead those who would become hunters, who thrill in the stalking of their prey, and who will it that cats become feared creatures by all. Those who wash their mittens in blood follow me."

"I am Luna-Nuturer-Of-Kittens," the hairless cat spoke. "I lead those who care for their litters and littermates, and who will it that cats become companions of others and accrue to themselves virtue for their next life. Those who wash their mittens in milk follow me."

"You have already started your paths," Luna-Huntress-Of-Prey said. "Your names and destinies were written in the stars when you were born."

"You have come here together," Luna-Nurturer-Of-Kittens said. "You have done well as a litter, but no longer shall you cling to each other. You must chose your name and wash your mittens."

Third watched as Eldest and Second immediately began to stride toward the other two cats, sure in their decisions. Third felt that neither of these cats contained their truth, Third felt that choosing would be wrong. So Third did nothing, holding to their feelings and hoping they would be correct.

Before they could see which cat their littermates selected, all four of them vanished from view and took the remaining light with them.

What had felt cold and forbidding before now felt warm and comforting. Third knew they could provide themselves with light, but felt like there was no reason to.

Once their eyes had fully adjusted, Third felt, and then saw, a cat of pure black twining their way around them, rubbing against them and purring affectionately.

"I am Luna-Shadow-Walker," the black cat said, sensing the question before Third could speak it. "I lead no cat, but only teach those who are worthy the hidden arts and the history of those who came before. If you follow me, your mittens will forever be stained in ink, covered in cloth, and your true power shall be forever hidden from all but those who see you as you are."

"You taught my mother?" Third said.

"As I did many before. If your destiny lies with me, then I shall teach you, too."

Third hesitated.

"The other two are still there," Luna-Shadow-Walker said. "If you feel your destiny lies with them, walk to them and they will accept you."

Third considered this for a long time, trying on and discarding thoughts before finding one that sang to their heart a welcome and a song of belonging.

"My name," they said, "is Weaver-Of-Luna's-Secrets. I take to myself the ink of stories and shadows, the cloth that hides and shows, and the destiny of knowing and discovering."

Luna-Shadow-Walker purred a hearty and welcoming rumble. "I take you to my family, Weaver-Of-Luna's-Secrets. I anoint you with the ink of the shadows. I bless you with the magic of the hidden, and I curse you to see all things as they truly are. You shall keep the history of us, and when the time is right, you shall pass on all you have learned to another."

Weaver-Of-Luna's-Secrets felt Luna-Shadow-Walker's affection and nuzzled her in return.

"Dawn approaches," Luna-Shadow-Walker said. "It is time for you to return."


	4. Names

Third--Weaver-Of-Luna's-Secrets awoke. Luna-Smiles-Upon-Her-Litters smiled.

"You are changed," she said. "I see the marks of the Sages upon you. We must celebrate, but first, tell me the names that you have chosen for yourselves."

"I am Luna's-Iron-Forged-Claws!" their sister, second of her litter shouted. "Blood, glory, and prey shall be mine!" She bounded from the room in search of a place to sharpen her claws.

"I am Protector-Of-Luna's-Litters," their brother, eldest of his litter said confidently. Bowing his head to his mother and littermate, he left. The sound of the food bowl followed soon after. 

"And you?" their mother asked.

"I am...the third of my litter," they replied. "My names are numerous and changing. Only those who walk in shadow see my true self."

"Then you are of my destiny, Weaver-Of-Luna's-Secrets, and it is time to learn the stories you must pass on."

Their mother and them moved to the space in the house where the sun's rays would not arrive until the day was almost finished. 

"Mittens, we are told now, are strange gifts for kittens..."


End file.
